Local Entertainment History: Ivan's Hut

Apr. 4, 2009

Written by

Doug Fuhrmann

During the days of beatniks, Bob Dylan and high school hootenannies, something could be heard a-blowiní in the wind along South Delsea Drive.

It was the sound of folk music emanating from Ivanís Hut, a local haven for teens, which, in the early 1960s, brought a touch of Greenwich Village to the Vineland area.

Ivan was proprietor Ivan Golownjew who transformed what once had been Benís Barbecue into a "new experiment in young peopleís entertainment," as described by the Vineland Times Journal.

When the newspaper visited the place in January 1964, the Beatles were still weeks away from their first No. 1 hit in the states, and performers like Bobby Vinton, the Kingsmen and the Singing Nun topped the charts.

At Ivanís, local entertainers could be found on the venue, including a singer named Johnny Guitar performing his folk composition, "Strange House," based on the legend of George Daynorís Palace of Depression.

In the audience, an eclectic mix of the college-aged crowd, some in black turtlenecks and others in conservative jacket and tie, had gathered from Rutgers, Glassboro State, and local high schools too.

Ivan allowed no alcohol, and posted a large sign reading "No Punks, No Drunks," on the front of his establishment.

His "daffy dťcor" included a mixture of nets, straw and bamboo rods, and a huge board, which ran the length of the refreshment counter, on which visitors could sign their names. Probably most memorable of all Ivanís symbols, was the large Tiki that stood outside, fashioned in a Polynesian idolís image.

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